There are around 140 full-time undergraduate students at the Slade studying on either the four-year BA or the three-year BFA studio based programmes in Fine Art. The BA and BFA are of equal academic standing and have the same entrance requirements. The BA includes a history and theory of art component and an additional course chosen from another UCL department. The BFA includes a studio-based critical studies component.

The studio programme for the BA and BFA is structured around three studio subject areas: painting, sculpture and fine art media. After an initial period of orientation as a first-year group, students choose to be based in one of the areas. Students are expected to initiate and develop their own
programme of work with tutorial guidance and technical support. Each
subject area has a specialist team of academic staff supported by
technical facilities and expertise and provides a focused environment in
which students can address the practice and theory of the subject.
Workshops enable students to develop their skills and technical
abilities and each area runs a programme of seminars, visiting artists,
gallery visits and other events pertinent to students' interests and the
development of exciting and challenging debate.

During
the first two years BA students attend courses in the history and
theory of art and produce written assignments, culminating in an
Independent Study in year three. They also take an additional course in
another department of UCL. BFA students complete a studio-based critical
studies component. All undergraduate students can apply for a period of
study abroad on the exchange programme.

The tutorial system

Each
student is assigned to a tutor group comprised of students from all
three areas, which meets twice a term. One-to-one tutorials can be
arranged with the tutor, as well as with other academic staff, through a
system of sign-up sheets and appointments.

Subject-area seminars

Each
area organises regular seminars where students present their work for
discussion. The aim is to relate the work to debates specific to the
subject area and develop critical awareness.

Cross-area seminars

The
cross-area seminars provide a forum for students to present their work
to students and tutors across the subject areas. The aim is to relate
the work to a broader context beyond the subject area in which it is
produced. Cross-area seminars also aim to develop students'
understanding of how to locate, place and present their work for
exhibition. History and theory of art staff regularly participate in
both series of seminars.

Group work

Students
work as a group across the subject areas in a number of different ways,
including an introductory course to the contexts and histories of art
practice in the autumn term of the first year.

Visitors’ programme

Each
area has a programme of visitors including artists, critics and
curators who give tutorials, lectures and participate in seminars.

Painting in the BA/BFA

Andrew Stahl Head of Undergraduate Painting

The undergraduate painting course aims to enable each student to pursue their ideas in and around painting in all its forms in the most committed, imaginative and experimental way. Work may manifest itself in a wide variety of different mediums and materials. Studio interaction is an essential aspect of the painting course. Each painting student is given studio space and the years are mixed together to provide a lively cross-fertilisation of ideas and practice. One-to-one tutorials are a crucial part of the course and regular seminars and crits take place where students are encouraged to discuss and present their work to fellow students and staff. Workshop programmes to introduce painters to stretcher-making and some materials of painting are available to students. An integral part of the course is the extensive programme of visiting artists and critics, who give tutorials and lectures and participate in seminars.

Sculpture
in the BA/BFA

Kieren Reed Head
of Undergraduate Sculpture

The undergraduate sculpture area embraces an expansive idea of sculpture towards the expression and exploration of ideas in space, using material or dematerialised processes. We encourage experimentation, invention and intervention which may incorporate object making, installation, the uses of appropriation and the found object, drawing, still and moving image, sound, text, printed matter and performance. Staff and students engage in rigorous, discursive conversation, exploring and developing the ideas generated by student activity, and the subject of sculpture and its possibilities. We consider production in its broadest sense, the contexts of space and place, audience, process, temporal and haptic encounter through the discussion of work, the contexts of art practice and relevant historical and contemporary models of thought. Field visits are made to galleries, studios, factories and sites. Technical support is provided in the use of wood, metal, plastic, ceramics, construction, casting, carving and moulding techniques, moving, still and 3D digital image, sound and printed media.

Fine
Art Media in the BA/BFA

David Burrows Head
of Undergraduate Fine Art Media

The undergraduate fine art media area encourages a diverse approach to exploring media and ideas. The area allows students to specialise and develop expertise in a chosen medium or a combination of approaches that test the boundaries and relationships of different media. Students can develop their practice through a broad range of technologies and approaches that include film, video, photography, print, electronic and digital media, drawing, performance, sound, object-making, installation and the production of texts and publications. An experimental and critical approach is encouraged and a wide range of conceptual and practical expertise is provided by staff who are practitioners specialising in the field. Technical tuition and theoretical and philosophical discourse relevant to the area are introduced to students through workshops, gallery visits and seminars.

Joy Sleeman Head of History and Theory of Art Taught Courses

History and theory of art courses in the first two
years are thematic, looking at both historical and contemporary art. They
provide a grounding in histories and theories of art which contributes to
students' overall development as artists and their awareness of the relevance
of these critical studies to the contemporary practising artist. The programme
helps students to contextualize their studio work and to understand and
negotiate the complex relationships between making art and the ways in which
contemporary and historical art is interpreted, displayed and understood. The programme takes the form
of lectures, seminars, individual tutorials, written papers and gallery and
museum visits. It is
structured to encourage increasing independence of thinking and the third year Independent
Study is an in-depth research project on a subject chosen by the student and
developed through regular supervision. Students are expected to participate
actively in the programme: reading set texts in preparation for seminars,
visiting exhibitions and generating discussion through informed questioning and
debate. Through a range of assessed assignments, seminars, tutorials and more
informal discussion, students develop and refine their skills in articulating
ideas in spoken and written forms and their powers of criticism and
self-criticism.

BA
students take one additional course from a vast range of options offered in
other UCL departments, normally in their second year. This may relate to their studio
work, for example, a course in anthropology, psychology, architecture or film,
or it may provide an additional skill such as mathematics or computing.

The critical studies component of the three-year BFA programme is integrated into the undergraduate studio course and the tutorial system. Students’
understanding of critical studies will be developed through their participation
in seminars, tutorials, lectures, the visiting artists’ programme and gallery and museum visits. Critical studies is designed to provide students with the ability to reference their work within a relevant
contemporary and historical cultural context, to enable students to develop verbal,
written and practical skills in relation to the development of their work and
to enable them to develop effective methods for the presentation of their work. It is supported in the first year by an introductory core course into the contexts and histories of art practice.

Studio work in the BA and BFA

Tutorial reports are written twice a year and together
with the students' own evaluative comments, form an individual academic record.
There are assessments of studio work at the end of each year. The assessment
process requires students to demonstrate, through the development of their
studio work, critical awareness and their participation in and contribution to
the programme. It is a constructive process and helps students become aware of
what is required for the final degree examination and exhibition and their
future development as artists. Final-year students present work in the form of
an exhibition or another form of presentation, such as a screening or
performance, at the end of their final year. After the examination process is
complete, the final degree exhibition is open to the public, attracting around
3,000 visitors each year.

History and theory of art in the BA

Through coursework, seminars, tutorials and more
informal discussion, students develop and refine their skills in articulating
ideas in spoken and written forms and their powers of criticism and
self-criticism. Assessed essays and the third year Independent Study help
students to develop skills that are valuable to their professional life as
artists and or for further study. The programme as a whole promotes independent
research and the critical contextualisation of studio work. Marks for elements
of the history and theory of art programme contribute a total of 20% towards
the final BA degree.

Critical studies in the BFA

Critical studies is assessed each year and must be
passed in order for the student to progress to the following year of the
programme. Students are required to identify and articulate their work’s critical context and practical concerns by presenting a text and by making a presentation of their work at their end of year assessments. In the final third year the critical studies text is presented before the degree exhibition.

Visit the Slade

Applicants for our undergraduate programmes are encouraged to visit the Slade during the autumn term on an organised tour where they can meet a member of academic staff and tour the studios and facilities with a current student. Alternatively, you can visit us during our Open Studios on Wednesday 14 December 2016 from 10am - 3pm or the Degree Shows in the summer term.

Application Procedure for BA and BFA in Fine Art

All applications to the BA and BFA in Fine Art at the Slade must be made through UCAS by 15 January.

UCAS codes UCL: U80 / BA in Fine Art: W100 / BFA in Fine Art: W101

Portfolio Inspection

All applicants are required to submit one portfolio for inspection by the entrance examiners. Applicants must complete the Portfolio Label and follow the instructions below. Portfolios may be delivered by hand to the Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square, London, WC1H 0AB on weekdays only from 6 - 9 February 2017 between 9.00am and 10.30am. You can book a date and time online after you have submitted your UCAS form.

Portfolio Handling Fee

All applicants must pay a handling fee of £15. Payments should be made using the UCL Online Payment Service. Select ‘Miscellaneous Payments’ and then the option to pay the Slade portfolio handling fee. The £15 handling fee is not returnable.

Students living in the UK should submit one portfolio comprising a selection of current and recent work which may include drawings, photographs, paintings on paper or board (but not stretched canvases), sketchbooks and notebooks. Larger paintings or 3D works should be shown as photographic prints. Videos or films should be in QuickTime on DVD. A showreel of five minutes’ duration is recommended for these. Each piece of work should be named and dated and where work is reproduced the dimensions of the original should be provided. The portfolio may include coursework, for example from A level or Foundation, but should also include self-initiated work. The portfolio must not measure more than 40”x30” (100cm x 75cm) and must not weigh more than 12kg. Work will not be accepted unless packaged in a durable portfolio. Do not exceed the maximum size and weight. Complete the Portfolio Label and attach it to the outside of your portfolio. Do not stick it to the wrapping paper or the inside of the portfolio.

Portfolios may be delivered by hand to the Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square, London, WC1H 0AB on weekdays only from 6 - 9 February 2017 between 9.00am and 10.30am. You can book a date and time online. You will be given a receipt for your portfolio and asked to collect it between 4.00pm and 5.00pm the same day. Portfolios can be returned to mainland UK addresses by post if you are unable to collect by hand on the same day. Indicate this on your Portfolio Label.

Portfolios may be sent by post from the UK and should arrive at the Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square, London, WC1H 0AB on 7 or 8 February.

Applicants living outside the UK should send a digital portfolio on CDRom (CD-R) or DVD with up to twenty images (each not more than 1mb) as a PowerPoint presentation. Notes should be included for each image including the title of the work, size, date and materials. Applicants with time-based or performance elements to their work may include a showreel with a maximum duration time of five minutes in QuickTime on DVD, no bigger than 2Gb. The showreel should be included on the same disc but must be uploaded as a separate file. It must not be embedded in the PowerPoint presentation. Write your name on the CD or DVD and attach the portfolio label to the case. Do not attach labels to the disk.

Portfolios posted from overseas should arrive at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT by the end of January. Portfolios on CD-R or DVD can not be returned and will be disposed of after the admissions process is complete so make sure you send duplicate material only.

Conditions

If portfolios are not sent in the specified format, they will not be viewed and your application will be rejected. Portfolios will not be viewed without payment of the Portfolio Handling Fee. While all reasonable care is taken of work submitted at all stages of the selection process, work is accepted only on condition that neither UCL, nor its agents, undertake any responsibility for any loss or damage that may be incurred. The £15 handling fee is not returnable.

Interviews

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for interview at the Slade. If you are selected you will be notified by 17 February. Interviews will take place during the week of 27 February - 1 March and 6 - 7 March. You will be expected to bring further examples of your work, including larger pieces of work as well as your portfolio. Interview dates can not be rearranged. If you are shortlisted but unable to attend, you must ensure that your portfolio is at the Slade for the examiners to view again when they are making their final decisions. Interviews can not be conducted by telephone or Skype. Applicants who are not shortlisted at the Portfolio Inspection will be notified through UCAS that their application has been unsuccessful.

Entrance Requirements

The BA and BFA programmes are of equal academic standing and have the same entrance requirements.

In order to be admitted to UCL students must normally be at least 17 years old by the start of the programme. Please list your previous qualifications clearly and completely on the UCAS application form, plus details of any courses you are currently taking. Your qualifications must satisfy the specific degree programme requirements as outlined below.

Normally, three GCE A
levels at Grades A,B,B, (or equivalent) will be required. A level General Studies
or Critical Thinking are not recognised for admissions purposes.

In addition candidates must possess GCSEs (or the equivalent) in English Language and Mathematics at Grade C or higher and show evidence of a broad general education.

A range of other UK as well as international qualifications is recognised and full details can be found in the application and entry section of the UCL website.

Special Entry

In exceptional circumstances, a candidate who does not satisfy the above requirements may be admitted to the programme on the recommendation of the Slade Director and the Dean of Students (Academic).

Mature Applicants

Applications from 'mature' candidates (aged 21 or over), who may not have a standard educational background, are welcome and are considered individually on their merits.

Deferred Entry

Applications for deferred entry are not normally considered.

Application procedure for Undergraduate Affiliate Study

Applicants for the Undergraduate Independent Studio Programme must discuss their course selection with their academic adviser in their home university to ensure that the Independent Studio Programme will provide them with an appropriate credit load and course content. For details of how to apply, see the Application and Study pages in the UCL Study Abroad Guide. Applicants must also send a portfolio of art work to the Slade. Send a digital portfolio on CDRom (CD-R) or DVD with up to twenty images (each not more than 1mb) as a PowerPoint presentation. Notes should be included for each image including the title of the work, size, date and materials. Applicants with time-based or performance elements to their work may include a showreel with a maximum duration time of five minutes in QuickTime on DVD, no bigger than 2Gb. The showreel should be included on the same disc but must be uploaded as a separate file. It must not be embedded in the PowerPoint presentation. Write your name on the CD or DVD. Send the portfolio to Affiliate Admissions, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT. The application form must be sent separately by email to the UCL Access & Admissions Office at affiliatestudents@ucl.ac.uk. The deadline for applications for study commencing in September is 31 March. The deadline for application for study commencing in January is 30 September.

English Language Requirement

Any student applying for the BA, BFA or Affiliate Study whose education has not been conducted in the English language will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency. This is to ensure that their academic progress is not hindered by language difficulties and that they are able to benefit fully from their time at UCL.

A list of all the qualifications accepted and the grades required can be found on the UCL website. The Slade requires the Standard level for the BA, BFA and Affiliate Study.

Guardian University League Tables

The Slade School of Fine Art is number one in this year's Guardian University League Table for Art and Design. See www.theguardian.com/education.

Tuition fees

UCL’s
tuition fees are set annually and cover registration, tuition and supervision
for each academic year, or part of an academic year that you are enrolled. Tuition fees are
subject to an annual increase. The fee does not cover artists' or other academic
materials. Current fees and further information about fee status, how to pay and living expenses can be found on the UCL Money pages.

Scholarships

Slade Scholarships
are awarded by nomination.

The Euan
Uglow Memorial Scholarship is an entrance scholarship, open to any
degree student. The value of the award is £2,000 and is payable in equal
instalments at the beginning of each year of the programme.

The Grocers'
Company Queen's Golden Jubilee Scholarship is open to UK nationals entering
the undergraduate degree programme at the Slade School in alternate years. The
value of the scholarship is around £2,000 per year, for the duration of the
programme, subject to satisfactory academic progress. One award is available every two years, being awarded in odd-numbered years.

The Herbert
Seaborn Memorial Scholarship of £1,000 is awarded annually for
achievement to an undergraduate or graduate student entering their final year
of study.

The James
Lewis Foundation Scholarship is an entrance scholarship in memory of
James Lewis, for a UK national entering the undergraduate degree programme at
the Slade School. The value of the
scholarship is £4,500 per year for the duration of the programme, subject to
satisfactory progress.

The Nancy
Balfour Trust Scholarship is open to any undergraduate or graduate
student. The value of the award is £2,500 paid in equal instalments at the
beginning of each year of the programme.

The Painters’
Company Scholarship is open to undergraduate students, normally UK
nationals, specialising in painting or drawing entering the second year of
their programme. The value of the
scholarship is £5,000 per year for the remaining years of the programme,
subject to satisfactory progress.

The Thomas
Scholarship is open to any undergraduate or graduate student. The value
of the award is £5,000 paid in equal instalments at the beginning of each year
of the programme.

Bursaries

Each
year the Slade Bursary Committee awards a large number of £500 Bursaries,
funded by donations from the Friends of the Slade and other benefactors to
students with particularly difficult financial circumstances. All students are
eligible to apply.

Travel
Scholarships

The Boise
Travel Scholarship is open to students who have completed their studies
and are normally resident in the UK. The scholarship is usually worth between
£4,000 and £9,000.

The Dolbey
Travel Scholarship for £3,000 is awarded annually to a Slade student in
their final year.

The Duveen
Travel Scholarship is open to Slade students normally resident in the
UK. The scholarship, for travel and research during the summer vacation, is for
approximately £3,000.

Prizes

The Anthony Dawson Prize and Award will be gifted annually for the next five years in memoriam of Mr Anthony Dawson. The two prizes will be awarded to students who exhibit excellence in printmaking as follows:

The £1,000 Anthony Dawson Print Award will be awarded to one continuing student, either undergraduate or graduate, at the end of their first year.

The £1,500 Anthony Dawson Print Prize will be awarded to one final year student, either undergraduate or graduate, as a graduation prize.

The Berenice Goodwin Prize of £500 is awarded annually to a graduating student for achievement in performance.

The Clare
Winsten Memorial Award is for a Slade graduate or graduating female UK
student to enable them to develop their creative talents. One or two awards of
£10,000 are available each year.

The Jeremy Cubitt Prize of £500
is an annual award for excellence in painting, for a student preferably from
the east end of London.

The Julia Wood Prize for
Excellent Use of Space of £100 is awarded in recognition of excellence in
articulating spatial constructs.

The Julian Sullivan Award of
£500 is awarded annually in June for achievement in fine art media.

The Kenneth Armitage Sculpture Prize
of £1,000 is awarded to a Slade student periodically by the Kenneth Armitage
Foundation for achievement in sculpture. It is for a graduating sculpture
student or a continuing graduate sculpture student.

The Michael Farrell Memorial Prize is awarded in memory of Mick Farrell, a photography technician at the Slade (2003-2015). His artistic practice negotiated the relationship between photography and sculpture, and developed an experimental approach to process and object. His explorations led him to developing pin hole camera techniques where he eventually worked closely with colleague Cliff Haines to construct the Straw Camera which gives a unique physical presence to the photograph. £600 is awarded annually to a final year undergraduate student in Fine Art for excellence and innovation in photography and its relationship with form, image and process.

The William
Coldstream Prize of £1,000 is awarded annually in June as a purchase
prize for outstanding achievement.

A number of small Sessional
Prizes are awarded annually, on the recommendation of the Slade
Professor. They include the Alfred W Rich Scholarship; the Henry
Tonks Prize, the Prankerd-Jones Memorial Prize; the Slade
Prize and the Steer Medal and Prize.

Yes, all applicants are encouraged to visit the Slade and there are a number of opportunities to do so.

Ideally, you should come on a Tour of the School during the autumn term; this is bookable online. These are held on a weekly basis on Tuesdays at 2.00pm and you will have a talk by a member of academic staff and the opportunity to ask questions. This is followed by a guided tour of the School by one of our current undergraduate students. Book here.

In the last week of the autumn term there is an Undergraduate Open Studios event where you can meet academic staff, see the school and spend some time in the studios, perhaps listening to a crit or talking to current students. For details, click here. Booking is not required.

If you miss the Tours and Open Studios, but you are shortlisted for interview, you will have an opportunity to meet a current undergraduate student and have a tour of the building on the day of your interview.

We offer two undergraduate programmes, the three-year BFA in Fine Art and the four-year BA in Fine Art. For information on programme content, please see our BA/BFA Degree and BA/BFA Admissions sections.

For further general advice about university study in the UK, UCAS provides a listing of programmes for the UK and contact details for Universities and Colleges.

You should apply for either the BA or the BFA. For details about the difference between the two programmes, please look at the BA/BFA Degrees section above. There is not a quota for each programme, so the best candidates will be selected regardless of whether they have applied for the BA or BFA.

It is possible to transfer on to the second year of the BA in Fine Art, but applications for transfer on to the BFA are not accepted. It is not possible to transfer onto the third or fourth years of the BA. You will need to apply in the usual way through UCAS indicating that you are applying for advanced entry and giving full details of the course you have completed for your first year elsewhere. You should also indicate in your UCAS statement whether you would be prepared to be considered for entry into year 1 if the entrance examiners consider that this is more appropriate. Please note that transfers are rare as space is not usually available in year 2.

The BA and BFA programmes have the same entrance requirements. Three GCE A levels at Grades A, B, B (or equivalent) are required. In addition candidates must possess GCSEs (or the equivalent) in English Language and Mathematics at Grade C or higher and show evidence of a broad general education.

For UK-based students, UCL also requires a Modern Language GCSE at grade C or above for all of its programmes. If you are not studying a Modern Language GCSE this will not prohibit the consideration of your application. For students who do not have a Modern Language GCSE, UCL will provide opportunities to meet the language requirement once enrolled at UCL.

If English is not your first language you must provide recent evidence that your command of the English language is adequate for you to benefit fully from the programme at the Slade. This may be either substantial education (minimum twelve months) or work experience (minimum eighteen months) conducted in English and undertaken no more than the summer two years prior to the proposed date of enrolment, or an acceptable English language qualification or test result awarded no more than two years prior to enrolment. For full details of the qualifications that are acceptable and the minimum levels required in them, please see the listed acceptable qualifications on UCL's website.

All applicants are required to apply though UCAS and submit a portfolio for consideration by the entrance examiners. Shortlisted applicants are invited for personal interview. The selection for the programmes is made on merit and great care is taken to give every application careful individual consideration.

The content of your portfolio should reflect the work you wish to show the examiners; demonstrating a range of your skills, talents and interests. You should include recent work, and self-initiated work (non course-work). For further details see the BA/BFA Admissions section above.

The examiners will be considering the following criteria when viewing portfolios: critical awareness; depth and scope of investigation; relevant use of processes and materials; the ability to realise ideas; the ability to contribute to and participate in the course and the ability to establish a self-initiated programme of work.

Information regarding size, weight and format specifications for your portfolios can be found in the Admissions section above. All work included in the portfolio should be labelled with a title (if there is one); the date the piece was produced; dimensions (if the piece submitted is a reproduction and not the original); and the materials used.

Portfolios can be delivered by post or by hand, but they must arrive according to the times, dates and instructions in the Admissions section above. If your portfolio is late, we can not guarantee that it will be considered.

If you are invited for interview and are unable to attend at the time you have been given, call or email the person who has sent you the letter giving details as soon as possible. Alternative dates and times can only be arranged during the scheduled interview week, where space is available.

All shortlisted applicants are invited for personal interview, regardless of where they live. We understand that not all candidates can attend if they live overseas, though you are encouraged to do so if possible. If you can not attend, you must make sure your portfolio is available for viewing by the entrance examiners during the interview week.

Successful applicants will receive an offer in writing from UCL and this will be confirmed formally by UCAS. You should respond to the offer through UCAS. Applicants who are unsuccessful at interview will be notified via UCAS.

Offers may be 'unconditional', which means that you have already satisfied the entry requirements, or 'conditional' if they are subject to you completing a course you are currently on, or passing any exams you may have pending, or on obtaining certain grades. Applicants with conditional offers should inform UCL Undergraduate Admissions of their results as soon as they receive them.

If you are one of the many people awaiting A Level or AS Level results and you meet the conditions of your offer your place will be confirmed by UCAS. You will also receive further information from UCL in due course.

If you do not attain the exact grades specified on your offer, you should contact us immediately. Final decisions will be taken by UCL Undergraduate Admissions and will depend upon overall numbers meeting their conditions across the university.

UCL has a number of scholarships. To check the details and see if you are eligible to apply for any of them, please see UCL's Scholarships and Funding web page. The Slade has a number of small scholarships. These are awarded by nomination in June each year. You can not apply for these, but all incoming students are considered for any awards for which they are eligible. The primary criterion is merit. Successful candidates will be informed by post in June. For further information, see the section on Scholarships, Bursaries and Prizes above.